


A Hopeless Love

by sunshyy



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Hanahaki Disease, How Do I Tag, Not Beta Read, Reveal Fic, Slow Burn, Tags May Change, They're like 17-18, Unrequited Love, Updates Will Be Slow, hanahaki, i have no clue what to tag tbh, not sure what to rate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 05:51:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16655419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshyy/pseuds/sunshyy
Summary: Marinette’s life is turned upside down the day she begins coughing up flower petals.





	A Hopeless Love

**Author's Note:**

> i've written tons of fics across many fandoms over the years since i discovered fan fiction, but this is the first one i've ever posted for the world to see, haha.  
> i only want this fic to be ten or so chapters, but we shall see!

The bell rang, finally signalling the end of class. Marinette sighed as she shoved her supplies in her bag. She wasn’t feeling great today and was ready to go home and rest. Alya smiled and told her to feel better as they exited the classroom. The bluenette smiled in return as she started down the steps.

Halfway down she burst into a sudden fit of coughs, pausing to lean against the railing for support. Once it subsided she continued her way down, but as she reached the second to last stair a tickle in her throat unexpectedly caused her to cough again. For the half second her eyes were closed she misstepped and tripped. A squeak made its way past her lips as she fell, and she braced herself for the pain she would undoubtedly feel after hitting the ground.

She never made it that far. Instead of hitting the floor, a steady pair of hands caught her. “Thank you,” she said brightly as she glanced up with a smile. It quickly slipped off her face as Marinette made eye contact with Adrien. “Oh, A-adrien, hi!” she said as she pulled away, a red flush creeping its way up her face.

The blonde teen smiled warmly back at Marinette, letting his hands drop to his sides once he made sure she was steady. “You should be more careful, Marinette,” he said, concerned. “Are you okay?”

Her face grew even redder as she stumbled upon her words. “Okay I’m. Uh, I mean I’m okay,” she stuttered out, blue eyes downcast. “I just need to go home and lay down.”

“Let me give you a ride home, I’m sure my bodyguard won’t mind!” the model suggested with another bright smile.

Sharing a car with Adrien? No way! Besides, the bakery wasn’t that far from the school. Marinette shook her head quickly and her lips slightly turned up in a small smile before she politely rejected his offer. She spoke quickly and continued to stutter as she told her crush that she appreciated it, but she would be okay. As he tried to promise her it wasn’t a problem, she just shyly shook her head and thanked him a final time before running out of the school.

She didn’t quit running until she reached the doors to her parents’ bakery. The teen found herself silently thanking akumas for keeping her in shape, as she wasn’t winded from the run. The tickle came up in her throat again but she ignored it this time as she opened the door. Her mother’s kind face greeted her with a bright grin, asking her how her day went. Marinette walked up to her and hugged her, telling her that it was okay, but she wasn’t feeling too great at the moment. Her mother simply told her to go up to her room and relax, to which she had no objections.

Once in her bedroom, Marinette opened her small purse so Tikki could fly freely around her room. She made the decision to change into a comfortable pair of leggings and sweater instead of the jeans and tee she wore to school. Since she wasn’t feeling so great, the teen decided that today was a perfect day to work on a piece she had been planning. Digging through the stack of sketches she had on her desk, Marinette smiled when she found the one she was looking for. It was a sundress she had spent hours designing, and it was the perfect time to start actually making it.

The next fifteen minutes were spent with Marinette clearing her workspace, setting up her sewing machine, and collecting the bolts of fabric she had selected for the dress. Tikki chattered excitedly with her about finally bringing the sketches of the dress to life. Once she was ready to start working on the dress, the teen quickly snuck downstairs to the bakery to steal a cookie for Tikki. Back in her room, Marinette handed the cookie to the excited kwami and made her way to her workspace.

After only taking a few steps the annoying feeling in her throat returned, and though she tried to ignore it, Marinette couldn’t prevent the onslaught of painful coughs that shook her whole body. For a few moments she stood in the middle of her bedroom, unable to move as her body tried to expel whatever had been bothering her so horribly.

When what felt like the longest minute of her life finally passed, and Marinette noticed something fall into the hand she had been using to cover her mouth. Blinking away tears, she glanced down; in her palm sat a lonely yellow flower petal. Blue eyes widened in shock, and Marinette recoiled, watching in horror as the petal fluttered to the floor of her bedroom.

She stood there for a few minutes in complete silence, ignoring the concerned tone of her small friend. Had she really just coughed up a flower petal? Surely she had imagined it.

That wasn’t the case, she realized as Tikki continued voicing how worried she was about her. “Marinette, are you okay? You should call your mother up here!”

Hearing that suggestion sent the girl into panic mode, and she instantly shrieked out a no. There was no way she was telling her mother, father, or anyone else! She could already imagine the pity on their faces. “I’m not telling anyone, Tikki. Who knows what will happen if anybody knows?”

The small creature frowned, and her small antennae drooped like they always did when she was upset. “But this is a seriously dangerous disease Marinette! I don’t want anything bad to happen to you,” she said sadly.

Marinette frowned. “I don’t want people to see me differently, Tikki. They’ll just act strangely around me, or tell me how sorry they are for me. I don’t know what to do.”

“You should tell your parents, they can get you help, and you can get cured!” Tikki persisted, tone firm. When the teen shook her head, the kwami sighed sadly. “This could kill you, Marinette.”

That shocked her. Of course she had heard of Hanahaki and that it could be horribly painful, but she didn’t know that it could cause death. Marinette had never thought to learn anything about it, as she had never had a reason to. She didn’t even know anyone who had it, as far as she was aware. With a shrug of her shoulders she told Tikki that she would figure something out. That didn’t satisfy her, but she seemed to accept Marinette’s promise to tell someone if it began to affect her too terribly.

Marinette finally picked the single petal from its place on the floor, and hurried to throw it into her trash bin. Once it was out of her sight she began to work on her dress, laying out the fabric she had chosen and setting out the patterns she had designed and cut on top. Once she had them placed, she began to pin them so that she could cut. She made it that far before the flower petal made its way into her mind; before long she was so distracted that she gave up on working on her dress.

Unable to take it, she logged into her computer and began researching, looking for all information on the disease she suddenly had. She couldn’t remember exactly why it occurred, just that it was a very sad cause. So, when she read that it affected those who were in love with someone who didn't return the feelings, Marinette felt a pang in her chest. There was only one person she was in love with, and that was Adrien. The sudden realization that he didn’t love her hurt. How would she face him now? She did her best to shake the thought of him away after a few minutes and continued her research.

 _Those who have Hanahaki Disease may at first only cough up flower petals, or single flowers. As the disease quickly progresses, roots take place in and around the lungs and heart, and slowly begin to spread to the esophagus, making it more and more difficult to breathe if left untreated._ One article she had clicked read. A feeling of dread settled in her chest, yet she continued to read on, desperate to learn more. _There is no simple cure for Hanahaki Disease that has been discovered. So far, the only ways of eradicating Hanahaki are if the person the affected loves begins to return the feelings, or the affected having a specialist surgically remove any and all flowers, roots, and stems from the body. The surgery, however, comes with a price. Once all of the flowers are removed, the patient will have one of three known results. They can simply just lose feelings of their loved ones, which is considered the best outcome. The affected could also lose memories of their beloved; and in worst-case scenarios, the patient could find themself unable to feel love for anyone ever again. For these very reasons, most cases of Hanahaki are not revealed until the affected has already perished, as they refuse to seek treatment._

A horrified gasp made its way passed Marinette’s lips as she quickly exited out of the article, shooting out of her seat and away from her computer. Tears welled up in her eyes, and when the small kwami fluttered up to her, the distraught teen gently hugged her. What was she going to do? She didn’t want to lose her feelings for Adrien, but she also didn’t want to die. Death was seemingly unavoidable unless the girl went to a doctor and was cured. She had a big decision to make, and lots of thinking to do before she could.

Today she couldn’t do a thing. Marinette just didn’t have it in her. She expressed this to Tikki, who offered a small smile and suggested she get some rest. The bluenette nodded, and climbed up to her loft bed, burying herself under the pile of blankets. It was barely dark outside, but she was exhausted. Her mother asked her to come down for dinner but she weakly called out that she wasn’t feeling well enough to eat tonight, and that she was just going to bed early. Her mother reluctantly told her that it was okay, and when she was left back to her own thoughts, Marinette began to panic again.

She lay in her bed for what felt like an eternity, unable to sleep. She was lying on her back, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Every possible scenario Marinette considered seemed worse than the last, and for the first time in a long time, she felt completely and utterly hopeless.

* * *

 

With mere hours before it was time for her to get ready for school, Marinette drifted off into a fitful sleep. She woke up minutes before her alarm was set to go off, gasping for air. She struggled to get oxygen into her lungs as she refused to expel what was without a doubt more flower petals. Minutes later there was a small number of shiny yellow petals scattered across her comforter, these ones slightly larger than the lonely one she had coughed up the day before. With a racing heart the girl quickly gathered them all into a pile and brought them down to her trash bin.

She huffed to herself as she went to her vanity to look in her mirror. The reflection she saw was much different than what Marinette was used to. There were faint circles underneath her usually bright eyes that had lost their shine. Long blue hair was a tangled mess, with stray pieces sticking straight out as a result for her restless sleep. She frowned. How was she already beginning to look so terrible?

Marinette turned away from her reflection and made her way towards her closet, selecting a soft sweater and pair of jeans. Maybe a shower would help calm her before she had to go to class for the day and face Adrien. It probably wouldn’t but at least she could hope.

She didn’t start washing right away, instead opting to let the hot water pour over her as she leaned her head back. Only after the water started to run colder did Marinette finally finish up. She let out a content sigh as she stepped out of the tub, wrapping a fluffy towel around herself. As she was drying off, the uncomfortable feeling of throwing up returned; strands of blue hair fell into her face as another small stream of yellow petals fell from her mouth and into the porcelain bowl of the toilet. Soon as they were cleared from her throat the teen hurriedly flushed them, looking away as soon as she was sure they were all gone. She quickly dressed after that, fleeing back to her bedroom to style her hair and get her supplies before leaving.

Tikki spoke words of encouragement to the distraught teenager as she settled into her hiding place in the small pink purse. Marinette smiled and thanked her as she snapped it closed, concealing the small kwami from the world. She took one last glance in her vanity mirror before she went down to breakfast. Her soft blue hair was in a braid down her back, and her eyes finally had regained some of their usual shine. It was a relief that she didn’t look so sick.

“Good morning sweetheart,” her mother greeted as Marinette stepped into the kitchen, reaching out to hug her.

“Hey mom,” she replied, kissing her mother on the cheek before sliding into her seat at the table. Sabine complimented Marinette’s outfit for the day as she set a plate in front of her daughter. The girl savored the omelette her mother made for her and after finishing she quickly downed a glass of water. “Have a good day!” she called out as she made her way downstairs to the bakery.

Her father was in the middle of kneading bread dough when Marinette arrived downstairs. He grinned at her as she snatched up a few chocolate chip cookies, telling her to have a productive day at school. The bluenette giggled and hugged her dad before exiting their home and making her way towards the school.

Adrien’s car pulled up to the school seconds before Marinette made sight of the school. There was an uncomfortable flutter in her chest when she watched him climb out of the car. It took every ounce of willpower to not turn around and make a mad dash for home. Instead she forced herself to head inside, walking quickly as to avoid speaking to Adrien.

Eyes focused solely on the concrete steps leading up to the school, the bluenette didn’t notice that Adrien was standing by his car, waiting for her. Right as she passed him he jogged up after her. “Marinette, wait up!” he called as he made his way to her side. He smiled once he fell into step next to her, not noticing that he startled her. “How are you? I just wanted to make sure you’re feeling better than you did yesterday.”

“Oh, hey Adrien,” she stuttered out, smiling uneasily.

_So much for avoiding him._

**Author's Note:**

> i know i'm not the greatest writer ever, so constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!  
> let me know what you think!  
> (also tell me if i should continue posting this, as i'm very self critical and anxious about my writing. actually posting a work in general is a huge step for me because i never feel like my content is good enough to share,, lol.)  
> anyways i should have another chapter to share soon! xx


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